Manufacturers donate equipment to tsunami-stricken area

A mobile water trailer from GE makes its way to Banda Aceh to help tsunami victims. Photo: GE Infrastructure, Water & Process Technologies

Responding to the need for potable water in areas still reeling from the recent Asian tsunami, companies across the globe are donating their water-treatment equipment, funds, and the services of industry experts.

GE Infrastructure, Water & Process Technologies, Trevose, Penn., has donated two 52-foot mobile water treatment units and the resources of more than 50 GE engineers, scientists, and project managers to provide safe drinking water to Indonesian families affected by the disaster. Total units on reserve for the relief effort will produce a combined capacity of nearly 864,000 gallons of purified water per day.

“A key ingredient for recovery by the regions impacted by the tsunami is access to clean, safe water,” said general manager Bryan Rishforth. “We are in a position where our technology can help start the recovery process, and we're extremely willing to help.”

In addition, ITT Industries in White Plains, N.Y., is shipping more than 80 ST1 water treatment units and 10 reverse osmosis systems to coastal areas in Sri Lanka. Combined, they can meet the daily water needs of more than 800,000 people in the disaster area. The firm also is shipping 200 gas-fed chlorinators and offering $500,000 to help defray the cost associated with providing relief to victims.

US Filter of Warrendale, Penn., plans to contribute seven treatment units that employ the company's membrane and disinfection technology. The units convert raw water into drinkable water. Each has the capacity to produce 26,400 gallons of clean water a day. The company built six of the units on a fast-track schedule at its Memcor manufacturing plant in Windsor, Australia.